Panthers close season with win against Saints

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees made more NFL history, but so did the Saints’ defense in an undesirable way, and the Carolina Panthers rallied to a 44-38 victory Sunday.

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees made more NFL history, but so did the Saints’ defense in an undesirable way, and the Carolina Panthers rallied to a 44-38 victory Sunday.

DeAngelo Williams rushed for 210 yards, including touchdown runs of 54 and 12 yards, for Carolina (7-9), which has won four straight. His 65-yard gain set up the first of three 1-yard scoring runs by Mike Tolbert.

Brees passed for 396 yards, giving him 5,177 this season. That makes him the first player to eclipse 5,000 yards three times. His four TD passes gave him 43 in 2012, and he's the first player with 40 TD passes in consecutive seasons.

The Saints (7-9) also gave up 530 yards, raising their season total to 7,042 to break the old record of 6,793 allowed by the 1981 Baltimore Colts.